Judy Mulder, 64, of Mapleton, IA passed away September 6, 2019 at the University Of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. A Celebration of Judy’s life will be held in the Mapleton Community Center on Tuesday October 8th from 4:00 until 6:00 PM. Also, a brief gathering of friends will be held at the Geilenfeld-Buehner Funeral Home in Oelwein at 10:00 AM on Friday October 11th. Inurnment will follow at Woodlawn Cemetery in Oelwein.
Judy Ann Mulder was born on April 28, 1955 in Oelwein, Iowa, the daughter of Lou and Betty Lou Mulder. She attended school in Oelwein and graduated from Oelwein Community High School in 1973. Throughout her childhood, she was involved with the Girl Scouts of America and carried that commitment into adulthood by serving as a Girl Scout Counselor for many years.
Judy loved to teach and earned an AA Degree in early childhood education from Marymount College in Boca Raton, Florida, and a BA in early childhood multi-categorical special needs education from Upper Iowa University in Fayette, Iowa.
She began her teaching career in the Maple Valley School System and taught there for thirty years until her retirement. During her tenure at Maple Valley, she earned a Master of Arts Degree from the University of South Dakota in Vermillion, SD in early childhood special needs education. It took Judy five years to attain her graduate degree, taking one class at a time, and driving ninety miles to and from Vermillion after her normal teaching days ended.
Judy often worked with parents who could not afford to purchase teaching materials for their special children so, at her own expense, she invented literally thousands of games and activities for her students and gave them away to parents free of charge.
She was a wonderful advocate for animal rescue and adoption, the Mapleton Fisher-Whiting Library and many local civic organizations.
Judy triumphed over neurofibromatosis and never complained about her condition. She had a profound Christian faith and took solace in the Lord. She was a long time member of the United Methodist Women, and a tireless worker in her church.
Judy is survived by her brother and sister-in-law, David and Maureen Mulder, her niece, Cindy Mulder Day, her nephew, Mark Mulder, grand nephews, Blake and Cooper Mulder, many wonderful friends and the hundreds of children to whom she gave her time, her encouragement and her love during her life.
